Judge Dredd

Judge Joe Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running (having been featured there since its second issue in 1977). Dredd is a law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner. Dredd and his fellow Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence and even execute criminals on the spot. He was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, although editor Pat Mills also deserves some credit for his early development.

Judge Dredd is amongst Britain's best known home-grown comic book characters. So great is the character's reputation that his name is sometimes invoked over similar issues to those explored by the comic series, such as the police state, authoritarianism and the rule of law. ^[1]

Publication history

When Pat Mills was developing 2000 AD, he brought in his former writing partner, John Wagner, to develop characters. Wagner had written various Dirty Harry-style "tough cop" stories for other titles, and suggested a character who took that concept to its logical extreme, imagining an ultra-violent lawman patrolling a future New York City with the power to administer instant justice. Mills had developed a horror strip called Judge Dread but abandoned the idea as unsuitable for the new comic, but the name, with minor modification, was adopted by Wagner for his ultimate lawman.

The task of visualising the character was given to Carlos Ezquerra, a Spanish artist who had worked for Mills before on Battle Picture Weekly. Wagner gave Ezquerra an advertisement for the film Death Race 2000, showing the character Frankenstein clad in black leather on a motorbike, as a suggestion for what the character should look like. Ezquerra elaborated on this greatly, adding body-armour, zips and chains, which Wagner initially thought over the top. Wagner's initial script was rewritten by Mills and drawn up by Ezquerra, but when the art came back a rethink was necessary. The hardware and cityscapes Ezquerra had drawn were far more futuristic than the near-future setting originally intended, but Mills decided to run with it and set the strip further into the future.^[2]

By this stage, however, Wagner had quit, disillusioned that a proposed buy-out (which would have given him and Mills a greater financial stake in the comic) had fallen through. Mills was reluctant to lose Judge Dredd and farmed the strip out to a variety of freelance writers, hoping to develop it further. Their scripts were given to a variety of artists as Mills tried to find a strip which would provide a good introduction to the character, all of which meant that Dredd would not be ready for 2000 AD's first issue, launched in February 1977. The original launch story written by Wagner and drawn by Ezquerra was finally published several years later in an annual.

The story chosen to introduce the character was submitted by Peter Harris, extensively re-written by Mills, and including an idea suggested by sub-editor Kelvin Gosnell. It was drawn by newcomer Mike McMahon. In it, Dredd brought to justice a criminal who had murdered another Judge and was hiding out in the ruins of the Empire State Building. The story introduced the motifs that would mark out Dredd: novel future crimes are resolved by hi-tech police procedure, with Dredd delivering a severe punishment. In this case, the villain is banished to a penal colony located on a traffic island. The strip debuted in prog 2, but Ezquerra, angry that another artist had drawn the first published strip, quit and returned to work for Battle. Wagner, however, soon swallowed his pride and returned to the character, starting in prog 9. His "Robot Wars" storyline was drawn by a rotating team of artists, including McMahon, Ezquerra, Ron Turner and Ian Gibson, and marked the point where Dredd became the most popular character in the comic, a position he has rarely relinquished. Dredd's city, which now covered most of North America's east coast, became known as Mega-City One.

The character has appeared in almost every issue since, the bulk of the stories written by Wagner (between 1980 and 1988, in collaboration with Alan Grant). Other illustrators of the strip have included Brian Bolland, Ron Smith, Steve Dillon and Cam Kennedy.

Since 1990 Dredd has also headlined his own title, the Judge Dredd Megazine. With Wagner concentrating his energies there, the Dredd strip in 2000 AD was left to younger writers such as Garth Ennis, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison and John Smith. Their efforts were not popular with fans, and sales fell. Wagner returned to writing the character full-time in 1997. Recently, many strips have been written by Gordon Rennie, and in interviews Rennie and Wagner have indicated that there is a plan for Wagner to retire once Rennie has established himself.

Judge Dredd has also been published in a long-running comic strip (1981-1998) in the Daily Star,^[3] but also in Metro from January 2004-2005.^[4] These were usually created by the same teams writing and drawing the main strip and the Daily Star strips have been collected into a number of volumes.

Character and appearance

Senior Judge Joe Dredd, one of a number of clones of Chief Judge Eustace Fargo, is the most famous of the elite corps of Judges that run Mega-City One with the power not only to enforce the law, but also to instantly sentence offenders – and (if necessary) execute them. Dredd has a large, computer-driven "Lawmaster" motorbike, which mounts powerful cannons, and has full artificial intelligence, and is capable of responding to orders from the Judge and driving itself. It is equipped with a video communication system, and is also connected to the Justice Department which can receive and transmit information to and from the bike. He also has a "Lawgiver" handgun (DNA-coded to recognize his palm-print alone) that fires six types of bullets; a daystick; a bootknife; and a uniform with a helmet that obscures all of his face except his mouth and jaw. His entire face is never shown properly in the strip (on very rare occasions it has been shown in flashbacks to when he was a child, in pictures lacking in detail).^[5] In an early story, Dredd is forced to remove his helmet and the other characters react as if he is disfigured, but Dredd's face was covered by a faux censorship sticker. In the story 'Dredd Angel' (progs 377-383), the face of Judge Fargo was clearly shown; some readers have speculated that as clones have the same DNA as their sire, Dredd would look identical to Fargo. Although this has never been acknowledged in the comic - since it was not established that Dredd was Fargo's clone until prog 552 - subsequent stories featuring Fargo have never shown his face. However, the assumption that human clones would be physically identical to their 'parent' and to each other is a fallacy and there is no scientific evidence to suggest that Dredd would necessarily resemble Fargo in any way.

A frequently used sentence in the series is "I am the Law!" Dredd could be viewed as the personification of Law itself, thus his face cannot be shown because as The Law he transcends any particular form. This is not to say, however, that he is totally inhuman. Throughout the strip he displays emotions (mostly anger) and irony. Another Dredd quote is "Democracy is not for the people," a short sentence containing the Judge's very human opinion of other humans, that they need to be very strictly controlled. However it should be noted that Dredd supported a referendum on the reintroduction of democracy in the story The Devil You Know. Ironically, when such a referendum was eventually held, the result came out strongly in favour of the status quo – rule by the Judges – as Dredd had expected it would all along.

As the strip occurs in real time, Dredd is currently more than sixty years old. However, his vitality is explained in the context of the stories with allusions to rejuvenation treatments. For some time, characters in the comic have mentioned that Dredd is not as young and fit as he used to be. If Dredd is becoming too old to serve, it is unclear whether there are plans to address this issue (Mega-City One has cloning and brain transplant technology for instance). This remains a major theme of current progs. In prog 1595 Dredd was diagnosed with malignant cancer of the duodenum.

Joe is nicknamed "Old Stoneyface", a name he apparently acquired while still a cadet. More recently, he has become known as the "Old Man"; though not confirmed, Joe is likely the oldest judge still on active street duty, with over fifty years of service (2079–2130). Recent stories have confirmed that Dredd is well aware he is living on borrowed time, with his replacements already being lined up. These include clones like Judge Rico and also other judges like Judge Giant.

As a result of events in the 2006-07 story Origins, some of Dredd's convictions have been shaken. He has recently come out against Mega-City One's treatment of mutants, attempting to have the laws repealed (which initially failed) and deliberately entering mutant camps to arrest the guards for abuses. He recently talked Chief Judge Hershey into another vote on their repeal. The second vote was a success in early 2130 and during the same story it was revealed that Dredd had reformist cadet America Beeny accelerated through the Academy. Dredd states in a monologue that he is very aware time is running short for him, and that his day as well as that of his generation of Judges is passing. He sees his job now to prepare the way for the new generation made up of cadets like Beeny.

Dredd has not given up on the law - far from it. He still believes in instant justice - but what appears to have changed is his trust in the system as it is. Dredd seems to believe in the ideal of the law but that the current system must change to conform to this ideal.

Fictional character biography

For more details on this topic, see #Major Judge Dredd storylines.

Joseph Dredd and his brother Rico Dredd were cloned from the DNA of Chief Judge Fargo, the first chief judge. Their growth was artificially accelerated so that they emerged in 2066 with an apparent physiological age of 5, with all the appropriate knowledge for their age electronically implanted in their brains by computer during gestation. The name Dredd was chosen by the genetic scientist who created them, Morton Judd, to "instill fear in the population."

In 2070 they saw action for the first time during the Atomic Wars, when as cadets they were temporarily assigned the rank of full judge and sent to restore order to the panic-stricken streets. Distinguishing themselves, they were chosen to take part in assaulting the White House when the Justice Department deposed President Booth. They were fast-tracked through the Academy of Law, Joe graduating second in his class in 2079 (Rico came first). Later that year Joe was forced to arrest Rico for murder.

Joe Dredd excelled as a judge, rapidly gaining promotion to the rank of senior judge. Offered the opportunity to become chief judge in 2101, he declined, preferring to serve on the streets enforcing the law. On several different occasions he saved his city from conquest or complete destruction by powerful enemies, and in 2114 he almost single-handedly saved the world from being destroyed during the Fourth World War.

Although Dredd puts his duty to uphold the law above everything, his devotion to duty is not simply blind loyalty, however. On two occasions (in 2099 and 2112) Dredd resigned from the force on points of principle, but both times returned to the fold. In 2113 Dredd insisted that the Justice Department gamble its very existence on a referendum to prove its legitimacy as a form of government. In 2116 he risked 20 years' imprisonment with hard labour when he challenged the policy of a chief judge which he was unable to support. In 2129 he threatened to resign to persuade another chief judge to change the city's harsh anti-mutant laws.

After over fifty years of active service, Dredd's career may be drawing to a close; in 2130 he was diagnosed with cancer.^[6]

Family and Associates

• Rico Dredd: Soon after becoming a judge, Dredd's brother Rico became corrupt and began breaking the law, forcing Dredd to turn him in. Twenty years later Rico returned from jail, seeking revenge. Dredd was forced to kill him in self-defence. In spite of Rico's status as a criminal, a wounded Dredd chose to carry him out of the apartment where Rico had died, stating "He ain't heavy, he's my brother".^[7]

• Vienna: Dredd also has a niece, Vienna, who was fathered by Rico while in jail. They have a close relationship (for Dredd). Dredd has gone out of his way to save her on occasion, and they get on relatively well.

• Judge Rico: Dredd himself has been cloned. One such clone, who adopted Rico's name (but as a surname), is often mistaken for Dredd. Judge Rico eventually inherited Dredd's apartment at Rowdy Yates Block.

• Judge Anderson: For years Dredd had a close but uneasy friendship with Cassandra Anderson of Psi Division. This friendship came to an end when Anderson abandoned the law for a short time. Later Dredd denied his friendship with her and claimed that he had merely tolerated her. After battling an alien who claimed to be Satan, Anderson was badly injured. At this point Dredd confirmed to her that they had, indeed, been friends.

• Judge Hershey: Dredd has known Chief Judge Hershey for twenty-eight years; like all chief judges since Goodman, he has easy access to her, but they also have a personal relationship based on mutual respect for each other.

• Walter the Wobot and Maria: Dredd used to share his flat with a domestic robot called Walter the Wobot, who performed all his domestic chores. Walter was intensely loyal to Dredd, but Dredd mostly treated him with open disdain. Dredd also had a landlady called Maria. Both Walter and his landlady were kidnapped several times by criminals, and Walter was once destroyed and had to be rebuilt. In later years, Dredd parted company with both Walter and Maria, and eventually left his flat, preferring ten minutes on a sleep machine in the Grand Hall of Justice. Maria sank into poverty and eventually died, homeless and alone. Walter tried to set up his own business, but it was shut down by Dredd. Bitterly, he plotted a second Robot Rebellion and actually shot Dredd. As a free robot, Walter was sentenced by Judge Giant to thirty years of imprisonment rather than destruction. Walter later repented, and petitioned Judge Dredd to release him. Dredd agreed, on condition that Walter resume work as a servo-droid, releasing him into the custody and service of Mrs Gunderson.

• Galen DeMarco was a judge who developed an infatuation with Dredd. While Dredd respected her as a judge, he did not reciprocate her feelings, since romantic attachment is prohibited to judges. Her breach of regulations led to her downfall and resignation from the force. Dredd maintained contact with her and tried to help her adjust to civilian life, but when he continued to reject her advances she eventually severed contact.

• Fargo clan: Recently revealed was the existence of a whole town occupied by the mutated descendants of Ephram Fargo, the twin brother of Chief Judge Eustace Fargo. These mutants, who share the common mutation of an overly large, exaggerated chin, are technically thus genetic relatives of Judge Dredd himself, and consider him a "cousin". This led to Dredd campaigning to have Mega-City One's mutant segregation laws repealed.

Dredd's world

The strip is set 122 years in the future. The timeline is worth noting, because the strip appears in real time - thus, as the Dredd strip has been published since 1977, Dredd has aged 31 years as of 2008. The Earth has been badly damaged by a series of international conflicts, much of the planet has turned to desert, and so populations have tended to aggregate in enormous conurbations known as 'mega-cities'. The world of Judge Dredd is centred on the megalopolis of Mega-City One. Within Mega-City One, extensive automation (including the creation of a caste of intelligent robots) has rendered the majority of the population jobless. As a consequence, the general population is prone to embracing any fashion that comes along. Much of the remaining world's geography is somewhat vague, although other mega-cities have been referred to and visited in the strip. Mega-City One's population lives in gigantic tower blocks, each holding some fifty thousand or so people. Each is named after some historical person or TV character (Dredd used to live in the Rowdy Yates block); there is usually some joke in the names of the blocks. For instance, Rowdy Yates was a character in the U.S. TV cowboy drama Rawhide, played by a young Clint Eastwood. Eastwood would later play "Dirty Harry" -- one of the thematic influences upon which Judge Dredd was based. A number of stories feature rivalries between different blocks, on many occasions (for example, in the story "Block Mania") breaking into gunfire wars between them. The Judges' possessing such arbitrary and total powers reflect the difficulty of maintaining any order at all in a Mega-City's stifling environment.

Despite its frequent disasters, Mega-City One stretches from around Boston to Charlotte; it stretched further before the Apocalypse War, which saw widespread death and devastation - the south of the city being entirely wiped out. At its height, the city contained a population of about 800 million; the current population is less than half of that. The story Origins revealed that Mega-City One was formed due to growing urban sprawl rather than deliberate design, and by 2031 and with the introduction of the Judge system it was recognised as the first mega-city.

There are two other major population centres in Dredd's Northern America. The first is Texas City, stretching across several of the southern United States and with a different culture to its northern cousin, based on Wild West frontier values. Further north is Canadia, though the specifics of this settlement are unknown, except that they lack a Judge system. Once, Mega-City Two (stretching from around San Diego into Baja California) also existed, but was destroyed during the events of Judgement Day. The centre of the continent is a nuclear desert called the Cursed Earth, containing various settlements and minor cities.

Nuclear deserts and destruction elsewhere are also extensive. In South America, a new desert extends from Nicaragua, covering Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and pushing far into Amazonas. Cities in South America are Brasília, Ciudad Barranquilla, and on the western side the Pan-Andes Conurb and South-Am City; Brasilia and South-Am were destroyed during Judgement Day. The majority of the Caribbean islands have been destroyed, and the water there and across much of the north Atlantic is severely polluted, and is now known as the Black Atlantic. An underwater settlement known as Atlantis exists in the Atlantic, bridging a Mega-City One/Brit-Cit transport network.

Europe has suffered considerable reshaping, especially the south. A desert covers much of eastern France, extending south into Spain and Portugal and across to cover much of Central Europe. Classical Greece is gone, as are parts of Turkey, and the Mediterranean is now the home of the Mediterranean Free State, a floating conglomerate of various settlements and refugee groups. The Black Sea and the Caspian Sea are now joined. In Europe the major cities are Brit-Cit (covering all of southern England), Calhab (part of Scotland), Euro-City (eastern France and part of Germany), Vatican City (most of Italy) and Ciudad España (eastern Spain). Ireland is split between the megacity of Murphyville and the Emerald Isle, an enormous theme park re-creating a stereotypical view of traditional Irish life.

Further east into Asia are more nuclear deserts, the ruins of East-Meg One (destroyed by Dredd in a massive nuclear strike at the climax of the Apocalypse War), and further east the megalopolis of East-Meg Two. Mongolia, lacking a Mega-City or Judge system, has called itself the Mongolian Free State and criminals have flocked there for a safe haven.

In Asia, separated from East-Meg Two by an extensive nuclear desert, are Sino-City One (destroyed during Judgement Day) and Sino-City Two in eastern China, with Hong Tong built in the remains of Hong Kong and partitioned between Sino-Cit & Brit-Cit control; Hondo City on the remains of the islands of Japan; Djakarta in Indonesia, before its obliteration during Judgement Day; and Indo City (also called Nu-Delhi) in southern India. Between Hondo and Sino-City lies the Radlands of Ji, a nuclear desert full of chaos magic and many violent outlaw gangs and martial arts schools. Into the Blue Pacific cities survive in south-east Australia (Sydney-Melbourne Conurb), New Zealand (Pacific City), Solomon Islands (Solomon City) and Tonga (Friendly City). Borneo has been covered in mutagens, as have all of Indonesia's islands which are now linked by a network of mutant coral; called "The Web", this network of islands is a lawless hotbed of crime.

The Middle East is without major cities, being either nuclear or natural deserts; the Mediterranean coast is heavily damaged by mutagens. In Africa much of the south is nuclear desert, South Africa proper has been shattered and is entirely uninhabitable, and the continent is now known as Pan-Africa. The major cities are Umur (Libya), New Jerusalem (north-east Ethiopia), Luxor City (Egypt), Casablanca (Morocco), and Simba City (Cameroon). Lake Victoria is enlarged and has been renamed the Kenyatta Sea.

Nuclear fallout and pollution appear to have missed Antarctica and the Arctic, causing Mega-Cities (Antarctic City and Uranium City respectively) to have been constructed there.

The high levels of pollution have created instances of mutation in humans and animals. The Mega-Cities largely operate on a system of genetic normality making expulsion from the cities the worst punishment possible.

Earth's moon has been colonised, with a series of large domes forming Luna City; another colony, Puerto Luminae, exists but is a lawless, violent hellhole. In addition many deep space colonies have been established. Some are loyal to various mega cities while many are independent states, and others still face violent insurgencies to gain independence. The multi-national Space Corps battle both insurgencies and external alien threats. The planet Hestia (which is in a polar orbit of the sun that passes near to earth's) has a colony, there are some references to colonies on Mars such as Viking City, the moon Titan has a Judicial penal colony, and MC1 is known to have deep space missile silos on Pluto.

Continuity errors have crept into the history at various stages. An example is an early story featuring a mad scientist who experimented with human cloning - despite the fact that it had already been revealed that many Judges, including Dredd himself, were clones. The most glaring one is the reference to the penal colony for rogue Judges on Titan, which is said in the strip at various stages to orbit either Jupiter or Saturn (the latter is correct), seemingly at the whim of the writer at the time.

The Judge system

Main article: Judge (2000 AD)

In the future the Judicial system has spread throughout the globe with various super-cities besides Mega City One possessing a Judge system of law enforcement and government. As such the Judicial political model has become the most common form of government on earth with only a few small areas practicing traditional civilian rule.

Judges once appointed, can be broadly characterized as 'street Judges' (who patrol the city), and administrative or office based judges (who teach at the Academy, or sit in formal positions).

Street Judges act as police, judge, jury and, if necessary, on-the-spot executioner. However, contrary to popular belief, Judges rarely carry out cold-blooded executions, and in general Capital punishment in Mega-City One is abolished, though 'deaths while evading capture' are numerous. Numerous writers have used the Judge system to satirize contemporary politics. The judges are, in theory, rendered absolutely incorruptible by the psychological conditioning they receive from a very early age -- although this has been subverted on several occasions to various degrees. One of the worst instances was by the insane Judge Cal who manipulated his way to the office of Chief Judge. Once he had absolute power, he proceeded to behave much like his namesake Caligula, even appointing his pet goldfish as his Deputy Chief Judge. Dredd was the leader of the rebel Judges who overthrew Cal; after Cal's death at the hands of Fergee, a dweller of the Mega-City's undercity, Dredd was offered the job of Chief Judge. He refused it, believing that he was needed far more out on the streets.

However, following the events in Wilderlands Dredd entered his nomination for Chief Judge as part of an investigation. When the investigation was over he let his nomination stand, eventually losing the vote to Judge Volt.

Various versions of the Judge system hold power in all the Mega-Cities of Dredd's world. There is an international charter which countries and city states join upon instituting a Judge system.

Major Judge Dredd storylines

There have been a number of Judge Dredd storylines that have either significantly developed the Dredd character or the fictional world background, or which have been "epic" in scale (i.e., have been lengthy multi-part stories, usually at least fifteen parts or more, and have had a story of a grand scale). These include:

• The Robot Wars (2000 AD Progs 10-17; prologue in Prog 9) The Mega-City Judges face an uprising by the city's robot servant workforce, led by carpenter-droid Call-Me-Kenneth.

• The Return of Rico (Prog 30) Joe Dredd's clone brother Rico Dredd returns from Titan seeking revenge for being apprehended 20 years earlier but instead is shot and killed by the Judge. (This story introduces Rico and the penal colony on Titan.)

• Luna One (multiple stories; Progs 42-59) Dredd is made Judge Marshall of Luna One, a colony on the moon governed by judges from all three Mega-Cities. (This story introduced Luna One and Judges from East-Meg One and Texas City.)

• The Cursed Earth (Progs 61-85): Dredd, accompanied by punk biker Spikes Harvey Rotten (and later the alien Tweak), leads a small group of Judges on an epic journey across the Cursed Earth, transporting the vaccine for the deadly 2T-FRU-T virus that is devastating Mega-City Two. (This multi-part epic, often referred to as ‘the first Dredd epic’, was inspired by Roger Zelazny's Damnation Alley.)

• The Day the Law Died (Progs 89-108; prologues in 86-88) The tyrannical and insane Judge Cal, head of the Special Judicial Squad, arranges the assassination of Chief Judge Goodman and assumes the title himself. By brainwashing the Judges and employing alien mercenaries, Cal’s stranglehold on Mega-City One is almost total. Only Dredd and a few other Judges and Judge-Tutors escape to lead the resistance. (This story introduced the Kleggs and saw Chief Judge Griffin assume the Chief Judgeship after Cal is killed by Fergee.)

• Judge Death (Progs 149-151) Judge Death, an alien superfiend from another dimension, arrives in Mega-City One. Believing all life is a crime, he embarks on a killing spree before being caught and imprisoned. (The first appearance of both Judge Death, perhaps the Mega-Cities' deadliest foe, and Psi-Judge Anderson.)

• The Judge Child (Progs 156-181) When the best 'pre-cog' in Psi-Division, Psi-Judge Feyy, predicts a child bearing the mark of the Eagle of Justice will have the power to save the city from an unspecified future disaster, it is up to Dredd to lead the galaxy-spanning search for the child. (An attempt to break away from the restrictive confines of Mega-City One, this story introduced several long-running characters and concepts into the Dredd mythos: Judge Hershey, The Angel Gang (except for Fink Angel, who was introduced later), Murd the Oppressor, and the new head of the SJS, McGruder.)

• Judge Death Lives! (Progs 224-228) Judge Death's three brothers, Judges Fear, Fire and Mortis arrive in Mega-City One to rescue him. The four Dark Judges seal off Billy Carter Block and begin murdering all the people trapped within. Dredd and Anderson put a stop to the killing spree and follow the quartet as they flee back to their own native dimension (known colloquially as ‘Deadworld’). The Dark Judges’ physical bodies are easily destroyed but their spirits forms are too psychically powerful, even for Anderson. However, the Psi-Judge is assisted by the vengeful souls of all the millions of murdered citizens and the four Dark Judges are seemingly destroyed. (Voted the third best story ever printed in the comic in a 2005 poll on the 2000AD online website, this tale introduced the other three Dark Judges.)

• Block Mania (Progs 236-244) Contamination of water supplies by Orlok the Assassin leads to all-out war between Mega-City One's many city blocks. (What begins innocently as a story in its own right, soon unexpectedly reveals itself as the prologue to ‘The Apocalypse War’ storyline, a trick the writers would again use later with The Dead Man/Necropolis storylines. This story introduced Orlok and saw the tragic death of Judge Giant.)

• Apocalypse War (Progs 245-270) Weakened by the effects of Block Mania, Mega-City One is attacked and invaded by the forces of East-Meg One. Almost half the city (400 million people) are killed in nuclear strikes. Many more die from radiation sickness, starvation and cold. The Mega-City Judges are unable to strike back as the Sov city is protected by a dimensional force field. Instead, the Judges fight a guerilla war, eventually culminating in the destruction of East-Meg One when Dredd captures a Sov missile bunker. (This story saw the death of Chief Judge Griffin and McGruder taking on the role.)

• City of the Damned (Progs 393-406) The Judges develop time travel technology. Dredd and Anderson travel into the future to discover more about the disaster predicted by Psi-Judge Feyy. However they learn that the Judge Child Owen Krysler has in fact caused the events, rather than preventing them from happening. Dredd has his eyes torn out but fights on, even battling an undead future version of himself. He and Anderson flee back to the present (along with the undead Dredd), where his eyes are replaced by bionics, before tracking down the Judge Child and killing him, thus preventing the future they experienced from ever happening. (The undead Dredd would return in a future story. This story was originally intended to be much longer but the creative team tired of it.)

• Oz (Progs 545-570) When sky-surfer Chopper breaks out of jail and flees to the Sydney-Melbourne Conurb in Australia to take part in the (now-legal) Supersurf 10, Dredd is sent to retrieve him. In addition, however, Dredd’s real mission is to confront the Judda, a religiously zealous army of clones, ruled over by former Council of Five member Morton Judd, who plans to dominate Mega-City One with his followers. Dredd destroys the Judda’s base (Ayers Rock) with a nuke, although some Judda are captured.

• The Dead Man (Prog 650-662) An unknown man with no memory is found almost dead and badly scarred in the Cursed Earth by a group of settlers. After recovering from his injuries, the man heads back to Mega-City One with a young boy, Yassa Povey as his guide. Along the way, he recovers his memory and recalls that he is Dredd, having lost his memory when he encountered the Sisters of Death. (This was not billed as a 'Judge Dredd' story when it first appeared in 2000 AD and great pains were taken to hide its connection with the series. There was no reference to locations or people from the main series until towards the very end of the storyline. The ‘Judge Dredd’ stories continued alongside this one, to further the illusion.)

• A Letter to Judge Dredd (Prog 661) Dredd receives a letter written by a child who has been killed as an indirect result of the Judges' suppression of a pro-democracy demonstration, causing him to seriously question the entire ethical basis of the Judge system, and setting in motion the chain of events recounted in the episodes that follow.

• Tale of the Dead Man (Progs 662-668) Dredd resigns and takes the Long Walk following his assessment of ex-Judda Cadet Judge Kraken, and his crisis of faith in the Law that he had always sworn to uphold. This story acts as a prologue to Necropolis.

• Necropolis (Progs 669-673 (Countdown to Necropolis) and 674-699 (‘’Necropolis’’)) Manipulating the confused mind of Judge Kraken, the Sisters of Death are able to use the body of Psi-Judge Agee in order to take control of Mega-City One and create a trans-dimensional bridge enabling the Dark Judges to once again manifest themselves. The four Dark Judges take control of the minds of the Judges and begin systematically killing the entire population. Kraken becomes a fifth Dark Judge after blowing his own hand off. Chief Judge Silver is killed.

• The Devil You Know and Twilight's Last Gleaming (Progs 750-753 and 754-756) The long running tensions between the totalitarian Judge system and the movement for the restoration of democracy in the Mega-City at last come to a head. Finally given a vote, the apathetic population mostly don’t bother and of those that do, the majority favour keeping the Judges in control. A Pro-Democracy protest march of almost two million people heads for Justice Central but violence is averted when Dredd alone convinces the leaders that the referendum was fair.

• America (Megazine 1.01-1.07) Regarded by many fans as the quintessential Dredd story. In this tale Dredd's philosophy is explored when democracy activists resort to terrorism. This story introduces the tragic characters America Jara and Bennett Beeny, as well as terrorist group Total War.

• Judgement on Gotham (a 'cross-over' story co-published by DC Comics and Fleetway.) Dredd and Batman reluctantly join forces to defeat Judge Death, who has used dimension-jump technology to breach the DC Universe and attack Gotham City). This issue was also notable for painted artwork by Simon Bisley.

• Judgement Day (progs 786-799 and Megazine 2.04-2.09) Sabbat the Necromagus re-animates the corpses of the dead and uses them to attack the world's Mega-Cities, leading to the deaths of billions. This story includes the teaming of Dredd with Johnny Alpha, a character from another long running 2000 AD comic strip, Strontium Dog. (Dredd and Alpha had however previously crossed paths in an earlier story.)

• Mechanismo trilogy (Megazine 2.12-17, 2.22-26 and 2.37-43) After Necropolis and Sabbat's zombies, Mega-City has lost far too many judges. To combat this, the Chief Judge test-runs ten robot judges, with disastrous results.

• Inferno (progs 842 to 853) Escaped rogue Judges from Titan take over the city, forcing the Judges into exile in the Cursed Earth.

• Wilderlands storyline (progs 891-894 and 904-918 and Megazine 2.57 to 2.67) Dredd is exposed as falsifying evidence to shut down the Mechanismo project and is arrested, while Chief Judge McGruder attempts to remain in power and see Mechanismo implemented despite her failing mental capacities. When a malfunctioning Mechanismo crashes a space cruiser on an alien world in an attempt to kill McGruder, Dredd is forced to take control of the survivors. The mega-epic ended many long-running subplots including the Mechanismo Program and McGruder's second stint as Chief Judge, as well as bringing in Judge Volt, bringing back the Council of Five and introducing Judge Castillo.

• The Pit (progs 970-999) Dredd takes the job of Sector Chief at Sector 301, an isolated area of the city that has become a dumping ground for corrupt and incompetent judges. Introduced the popular character Judge Galen DeMarco, the closest thing Dredd has had to a love interest, who would go on to star in her own strip.

• The Doomsday Scenario (progs 1141-1164 and 1167, and Megazine 3.52-3.59) The first series to run the same story from different viewpoints concurrently from start to finish, one in 2000 AD and the other in the Judge Dredd Megazine. One is told from the viewpoint of Galen DeMarco, now a civilian, as she is caught up in Crime lord Nero Narcos' attempt to take over the city with his army of robots. The other is told from Dredd's viewpoint as he is taken prisoner by Orlok the Assassin and tried by the East Meg One government in exile for his war crimes during the Apocalypse War. Once Dredd escapes (with Anderson's assistance), he secured the help of Brit-Cit in breaking Narcos' control over his robot hordes. The story saw the Judges briefly lose power and Chief Judge Volt committed suicide as a result; Hershey replaced him.

• Helter Skelter (progs 1250 to 1261) In an alternative dimension, Judge Cal (see The Day the Law Died) was not defeated by Dredd, and has obtained dimension jump technology from the Dark Judges. He uses this to cause chaos between the dimensions, bringing back many of Dredd's greatest foes from other alternative dimensions, as well as a variety of characters from other 2000 AD stories (including cameos from D.R. and Quinch and others). On the verge of the total collapse of all universes (Helter Skelter), Dredd defeats Cal with the help of dimension technician Darien Kenzie.)

• Blood Cadets (progs 1186-1188) saw the introduction of a new clone of Dredd, who took the name Rico; Blood And Duty (progs 1300-1301) saw the return of Dredd's niece Vienna Pasternak. With Vienna's reintroduction and the new Rico's arrival, Dredd was given a family and several new plot points for future stories, including the Justice Department creating a large number of Dredd clones and Dredd's problems with trying to connect with his niece.

• Judge Dredd vs. Aliens (Prog 2003 special and 1322-1335) pitted Dredd against the monsters from the Alien movie series, with mutant terrorist Mister Bones breeding an army of xenomorphs in the Undercity and having them assault the Department of Justice.

• Terror and Total War (progs 1392-1399 and 1408-1419) A pair of stories that deals with the actions of a terrorist cell in Mega-City One. Fanatically dedicated to the democratic cause, Total War smuggles 12 nuclear devices into the vast megalopolis and threaten to detonate them all unless the Judges leave the City. A standard thriller plot made more significant through explorations of Judge Dredd's extended family, including Vienna and a Dredd clone, Nimrod.

• Blood Trails (progs 1440-1449) Following on from elements of Total War and Gulag (where Dredd led a Judge team to try and free POWs from the Sov block), a clone of Sov judge Kazan tries to attack Dredd by targeting Vienna, sending the face-changing assassin Pasha to gain her trust and abduct her. In the aftermath of the story, the Kazan clone was cut loose by East-Meg 2 and claimed political asylum from Mega-City One; Dredd's long-term ally Guthrie was severely injured, losing both legs and an arm and eventually being turned into a cyborg; and both Judges Giant and Rico were severely injured.

• Origins (progs 1505-1519 and 1529-1535; prologue in 1500-1504) consists largely of flashbacks and sets out the history of the Judges and of Chief Judge Fargo, as well as scenes from Dredd's childhood during the Third World War.

• Mutants in Mega-City One (progs 1542-1545) is the first in a series of short stories in which Dredd campaigns to change the apartheid laws prohibiting mutants from entering the city. (This story arc is ongoing as of 2008.)

Villains

Numerous famous criminals ('perps' in the story's argot) have featured over the years including:

• The Angel Gang
  • Mean Machine Angel
• Chief Judge Cal
• Call-Me-Kenneth
• Chopper
• The Dark Judges
  • Judge Death
• Armon Gill (a.k.a. the "Chief Judge's Man")
• Judge Grice
• Morton Judd
• The Judge Child
• War Marshal Kazan
• PJ Maybe
• Nero Narcos
• Sov Judge Orlok
• Shojun the Warlord
• Captain Skank

Alternative versions

Shortly before the release of the 1995 movie, three new comic book titles were released, followed by a one-off comic version of the film story.

Judge Dredd (DC Comics)^[8] 

DC Comics published an alternative version of Judge Dredd between 1994 and 1995, lasting 18 issues. Continuity and history were different to both the original 2000 AD version and the 1995 film. A major difference was that Chief Judge Fargo, portrayed as incorruptible in the original version, was depicted as evil in the DC version. Most issues were written by Andrew Helfer, but the last issue was written by Gordon Rennie, who has since written Judge Dredd for 2000 AD. (Note: the DC crossover story "Judgement on Gotham" featured the original Dredd, not the version depicted in this title.)

Judge Dredd - Legends of the Law^[9] 

Another DC Comics title, lasting 13 issues between 1994 and 1995. Although these were intended to feature the same version of Judge Dredd as in the other DC title, the first four issues were written by John Wagner and Alan Grant and were consistent with their original 2000 AD version.

Judge Dredd - Lawman of the Future^[10] 

From the same publishers as 2000 AD, this was nevertheless a completely different version of Dredd aimed at younger readers. Editor David Bishop prohibited writers from showing Dredd killing anyone, a reluctance which would be completely unfamiliar to readers acquainted with the original version. It ran fortnightly from 1995 to 1996.

Judge Elmer Dwedd^[11] 

In Marvel Comics, Judge Dredd was satirized by combining the lawman with Looney Tunes character Elmer Fudd to create Judge Elmer Dwedd. This pastiche of Dredd appeared in a handful of issues of Howard the Duck prior to the release of the Judge Dredd movie, and the character was discontinued afterward.

Judge Dredd (Dynamite Entertainment)

Dynamite Entertainment have acquired the license to produce new material based on 2000 AD characters, the first of which will be a Dredd comic book, to be written by Garth Ennis and John Wagner.^[12]

In other media

Film

Main article: Judge Dredd (film)

An American film loosely based on the comic strip was released in 1995, starring Sylvester Stallone as Dredd^[13] (it was said that Arnold Schwarzenegger was originally requested for the role^[14], but declined because in the original script, Dredd would keep the helmet on during major parts of the film). Fans were highly critical, largely regarding it as an American failure creatively; non-fan viewers reacted negatively, and it was a huge commercial failure as well. In deference to its expensive Hollywood star, Dredd's face was shown. In the comic, he very rarely removes his helmet and even then, his real face is never revealed. Also, in spite of the large production budget and accurate re-creation of the sets and characters' appearances, the writers largely omitted the ironic humour of the comic strip; they also ignored important aspects of the 'Dredd mythology'. For example, in the film a 'love interest' is developed between Dredd and Judge Hershey, something that is strictly forbidden between Judges (or Judges and anyone else for that matter) in the comic strip. In America, the film won several "worst film of the year" awards. Also of interest is the cameo appearance of the ABC Warrior robot, bearing a distinct resemblance to Hammerstein.

Video games

Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death was produced by Rebellion Developments and released in early 2003 by Sierra Entertainment for the PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. The game sees the return of the Dark Judges when Mega-City One becomes overrun with vampires and the undead. The player takes control of Judge Dredd, with the optional addition of another Human player in Co-operative play; his mission is to bring the Dark Judges to Justice again. The whole game is played in the style of an FPS (first-person shooter) - with key differences from the standard FPS being the requirement to arrest lawbreakers and an SJS death squad which will hunt you down should you kill too many civilians.

Weapons include the standard Lawgiver Mark III, the Arbitrator Shotgun, the Lawrod Rifle, the Spit Gun, and a variety of other common FPS weapons.

The player can also go up against three friends in the various multiplayer modes which include Deathmatch/Team Deathmatch, Elimination/Team Elimination, Informant, Judges Vs Perps, Runner and more.

There have also been several games released across formats such as the PlayStation, SNES/Super Famicom, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and several home computers, such as the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, while a high-profile arcade game, or "coin-op," was developed - but never released - by Midway Games, creators of the Mortal Kombat video game franchise. Some of them (more specifically the SNES/Genesis versions) had the film as basis, given that the box artworks for these depict Stallone as he appears in the film poster.

Bally also produced a Judge Dredd pinball machine.

Roleplaying Games

Main article: Judge Dredd (role-playing game)

Boardgames and CCGs

Mongoose Publishing have released a miniatures skirmish game of gang warfare based in Mega City 1 called Gangs of Mega-City One, often referred to as GOMC1. The game features Judges being called in when a gang is challenged another gang that is too tough to fight. A wide range of miniatures have been released, including box sets for an Ape Gang and an Undercity Gang. A Robot Gang was also produced but was released as two blister packs instead of a box set. Only one rules expansion has been released, called Death on the Streets, which is now out of print. The expansion introduced many new rules including usage of the new gangs and the ability to bring Judge Dredd himself into a fight. Signs and Portents continues to contain articles for this game fairly regularly.

There was also a short-lived collectible card game called simply 'Dredd' based on the world of Judge Dredd. In the game players would control a squad of judges and arrest perps. The rules system was innovative and the game was well-received by fans and collectors alike, but various issues unrelated to the game's quality caused its early demise.

Games Workshop produced a boardgame based on the comic strip in 1982. In the game players, who represent judges, attempt to arrest perps that have committed crimes in different location in Mega City One. A key feature of the game is the different action cards that are collected during play; generally these cards are used when trying to arrest perps although some cards can also be played against other players to hinder their progress. The winner of the game is the judge who collected the most points arresting perps. Whilst it is a reasonably simple game it is quite amusing especially when players spend time sabotaging each others arrest attempts. Additionally, there were many amusing card combinations such as arresting Judge Death for selling old comics, as the Old Comic Selling crime card featured a 2000 AD cover with Judge Death on it. The game used characters, locations and artwork from the comic but is now out of print.

In 1987, Games Workshop published a second Dredd-inspired boardgame, Block Mania. In this game for two players, players take on the role of rival neighboring blocks at war. This was a heavier game than the earlier Dredd boardgame, focused on tactical combat, in which players control these residents as they use whatever means they can to vandalize and destroy their opponent's block. Later the same year, Games Workshop released the Mega Mania expansion for the game, allowing the game to be played by up to 4 players.

Often overlooked in favour of official material, Drokk City (a non-profit Judge Dredd RPG) was in some fan circles considered the better adaptation of 'Dreddworld' to the roleplaying format, being the most detailed Judge Dredd reference series ever mounted. Published by former Mongoose Publishing freelancer John Caliber as a public apology for what he considered deep flaws with the Mongoose incarnation, Drokk City ran for four issues ('progs'), in full colour, distributed as PDF computer files. Although two more issues were advertised, a lack of interest from the author saw their cancellation, and the conclusion of the Drokk City series. By the time of their demise, issues 5 and 6 were in production, although far from completion. No copies of this 'lost' material are known to exist.

The Adeptus Arbites created by Games Workshop seemed to be heavily insipred by Judge Dredd.

Novels

From 1993 to 1995, Virgin published nine Judge Dredd novels. They had hoped the series would be a success in the wake of the feature film, but the series was cancelled after insufficient sales. The books are:

• Deathmasques (Dave Stone, August, 1993 ISBN 0-352-32873-8)
• The Savage Amusement (David Bishop, August, 1993 ISBN 0-352-32874-6)
• Dreddlocked (Stephen Marley, October, 1993 ISBN 0-352-32875-4)
• Cursed Earth Asylum (David Bishop, December, 1993 ISBN 0-352-32893-2)
• The Medusa Seed (Dave Stone, January, 1994 ISBN 0-352-32895-9)
• Dread Dominion (Stephen Marley, May, 1994 ISBN 0-352-32929-7)
• The Hundredfold Problem (John Grant, August, 1994 ISBN 0-352-32942-4)
• Silencer (David Bishop, November, 1994 ISBN 0-352-32960-2)
• Wetworks (Dave Stone, February, 1995 ISBN 0-352-32975-0)

(In 2003 The Hundredfold Problem was re-released by BeWrite Books, rewritten as a non-Dredd novel.^[15])

From 2003 to 2007, Black Flame published official 2000 AD novels, including a new run of Judge Dredd novels. Their nine Judge Dredd books are:^[16]

• Dredd vs Death (Gordon Rennie, October 2003 ISBN 1-84416-061-0)
• Bad Moon Rising (David Bishop, June 2004 ISBN 1-84416-107-2)
• Black Atlantic (Peter J. Evans & Simon Jowett, June 2004 ISBN 1-84416-108-0)
• Eclipse (James Swallow, August 2004 ISBN 1-84416-122-6)
• Kingdom of the Blind (David Bishop, November 2004 ISBN 1-84416-133-1)
• Swine Fever (Andrew Cartmel, May 2005 ISBN 1-84416-174-9)
• Final Cut (Matt Smith, January 2005 ISBN 1-84416-135-8)
• Whiteout (James Swallow, September 2005 ISBN 1-84416-219-2)
• Psykogeddon (Dave Stone), January 2006 ISBN 1-84416-321-0)

Audio series

In recent years Big Finish Productions have produced eighteen audio plays featuring 2000 AD characters. These have mostly featured Judge Dredd although three have also featured Strontium Dog. In these Judge Dredd is played by Toby Longworth and Johnny Alpha, the Strontium Dog is played by Simon Pegg.

The current list of 2000 AD audio plays featuring Dredd includes:

• 1. Judge Dredd - Wanted: Dredd or Alive by David Bishop
• 2. Judge Dredd - Death Trap! by David Bishop (with Judge Death)
• 4. Judge Dredd - The Killing Zone by Dave Stone
• 5. Judge Dredd -The Big Shot! by David Bishop
• 6. Judge Dredd -Trapped on Titan by Jonathan Clements
• 7. Judge Dredd - Get Karter! by David Bishop
• 8. Judge Dredd - I Love Judge Dredd by Jonathan Morris
• 9. Judge Dredd - Dreddline by James Swallow
• 11. Judge Dredd - 99 Code Red! by Jonathan Clements
• 12. Judge Dredd - War Planet by Dave Stone
• 13. Judge Dredd - Jihad by James Swallow
• 14. Judge Dredd - War Crimes by David Bishop
• 15. Judge Dredd - For King and Country by Cavan Scott
• 16. Judge Dredd - Pre-Emptive Revenge by Jonathan Clements (with Strontium Dog)
• 17. Judge Dredd - Grud is Dead by James Swallow
• 18. Judge Dredd - Solo by Jonathan Clements

Note: 3 and 10 are Strontium Dog stories that do not feature Dredd.

In addition, both "The Day the Law Died" and "The Apocalypse War" stories were featured on Mark Goodier's afternoon show on BBC Radio One, and issued separately on dual cassette and double CD. Both titles have since been deleted. "The Apocalypse War" contains plot elements from "Block Mania" as this story set the scene for the East-Meg One Invasion.

In popular culture

• The metal band Anthrax included a song about Judge Dredd on their third album (Among the Living) entitled "I am the Law". They also released a 12" single and a 7" picture disc, both bearing the image of Dredd.^[17] One 12" version featured a fold-out poster of the band dressed as Judges drawn by drummer Charlie Benante. Also, the Cursed Earth tour had Judge Death as the main imagery of the shirts sold during the concerts.
• The UK ska/Two-Tone band Madness also recorded a tribute single to Dredd under the name of The Fink Brothers, entitled "Mutants in Mega-City One". Released on the Zarjazz label in February 1985, the record featured a cover drawn by 2000 AD Dredd artist Brian Bolland.^[18]
• The UK band The Human League also wrote a song about Judge Dredd. "I am the Law" appeared on the album Dare.
• The Screaming Blue Messiahs recorded a song entitled "Mega-City One" on their final album Totally Religious.^[19]
• The Manic Street Preachers' song, "Judge Yr'Self" was influenced by the comic, and was intended to appear on the Judge Dredd film soundtrack. It reached the demo stage, but after lyricist and guitarist Richey Edwards disappeared, the other members of the band said that a song for a soundtrack was the last thing on their mind.^[20] Edwards himself was heavily influenced by the Judge Dredd and 2000 AD comics (the slogan "Be pure. Be vigilant. Behave" from the 2000 AD strip Nemesis the Warlock was included in the song "P.C.P."). A fully produced mix of "Judge Yr'Self" (by long time Manics producer Dave Eringa) was later released on the 2003 double-album of B-sides and rarities, Lipstick Traces. Furthermore, Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire was the basis for the character Domino in the 2000 AD story Zenith Phase IV Part 2: Blind Justice (prog 795, 8 Aug. 1992).^[21] He has said that this annoyed fellow band member Richey, who was a great fan of Judge Dredd and even had one of his drawings published in the comic during his late childhood.^[20] Richey himself was later parodied as "Clarence" of the "Crazy Sked Moaners" in the Dredd story Muzak Killer: Live! Part 3 (prog 838, 5 Jun. 1993), in a scene which parodied the infamous 1991 incident of Richey carving 4 REAL into his forearm with a razor (Clarence lasers 4 RALE [sic] into his forehead).
• Simon Pegg is a fan of 2000AD, and Judge Dredd memorabilia (supplied by the comic) appears in the background of several episodes of Spaced.
• A bar featuring live bands existed in Manila, Philippines, called Club Dredd (1990-1998), as a tribute to Judge Dredd. Owners were known fans of 2000 AD comics. It became known for alternative music and featured a large Anthrax poster of "I am the Law" at the bar's entrance.
• There is a rapper from Houston, Texas who goes by the name of Judge Dredd. He was featured on two tracks on Chamillionaire's Greatest Hits Mixtape.
• A sleeve illustration on German metal band Helloween's album Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 depicts a pumpkin-headed character (a band trademark) wearing a distinctive Judge's uniform. It's placed next to the lyrics for the song "Future World".
• Multiple references to the movie are made on the sitcom Scrubs, notably by J.D. at the end of the episode "His Story II", while being wooed by Elliot.
• Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica references Judge Dredd in the song Peacemaker.

See also

• Judge Anderson
• 2000 AD crossovers. Judge Dredd's timeline has crossed over with many other 2000 AD stories.
• List of minor characters in Judge Dredd
• List of technology in Judge Dredd

Notes

References

External links

• Judge Dredd at the Internet Movie Database
• The Guardian guide to the world of Dredd
• Mega City One
• Walter The Wobot fansite
• Dredd: The Card game details
• BBC Cult 2000AD comics page
• BBC Cult 2000AD audio page
• Judge Dredd boardgame page at BoardGameGeek
• Block Mania boardgame page at BoardGameGeek
• Big Finish Productions 2000AD page